HANCOCK, MI - The SEEDesign
Forum & Expo, hosted by the Finlandia University Jutila Center, is this Thursday,
September 15, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

All activities take place in the
Jutila Center Auditorium on the main level of the Jutila Center building. The
event is free and open to the public and attendees are welcome to come anytime.

The Forum & Expo showcases
the considerable impact that creative disciplines have on the Copper Country
and western Upper Peninsula region. The events share information and tools for
business innovation and offer opportunities to network with areas leaders in
business, design, and marketing.

From 11:00 a.m. until 3:30
p.m., a Speaker Forum will feature four lectures, each beginning at the top of the
hour. The presenters are Matthew Monte, president of Monte Consulting,
Houghton; Katrina Aho, interior designer for Gartner's Gallery, Hancock; and
Karyn Olsson, co-owner of the Upper Peninsula Marketing Department, Inc.,
Houghton.

At 2:00 p.m., Keynote Speaker
Maureen Monte, leadership and strategy consultant for IBM, will present a talk
titled, "Driving Creativity and Innovation in the Workplace through
Strengths-based Leadership."

At 4:00 p.m. three design
teams of professional designers and marketers, each team matched with a local
business, will unveil their makeover concepts for that business, and the winner
of this Business Makeover Challenge will be announced. The design teams will be
on hand to answer questions.

From 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. the Expo
portion of the event includes information booths from the area's copy editors,
web developers, architects, landscape designers, large format printers, graphic
designers, videographers, and interior designers.

From 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., the Keweenaw
Chamber of Commerce will host their monthly Business After Hours event. Both
Chamber members and non-members are welcome. Beer and wine will be served,
along with hors d'oeuvres prepared by Kangas Café and Catering of Hancock.

The SEEDesign Forum &
Expo is an initiative of the Finlandia University Jutila Center for Global
Design and Business. Funding has been provided, in part, by the Finlandia
University Campus Enrichment Committee, Thrivent Financial, and Monte
Consulting. It is supported by the Copper Country Community Arts Council and is
a program of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

For more information, visit
www.finlandia.edu/seedesign or contact Fred Knoch at 487-7510.